I learned something about myself today. Yay! How exciting….not!
I was watching a Craftsy* class and knitting away. (I’ll tell you about Craftsy in a minute!) Ironically, the class was a free one from Quilt Con. So I was knitting while watching quilt classes. Anyway, Mary Fons was the speaker. If you’ve been a quilter for a while, Fons and Porter is a very familiar name. Liz Porter and Marianne Fons have been in the industry since the early 1970’s. Liz retired recently, and Mary Fons, Marianne’s daughter, is now part of the show and the company.
Clear as mud?
I was watching a seminar taught by Mary Fons. She’s energetic, dramatic, and only 32 years old. She’s not your stereotypical quilter. She made the comment that people comment all the time that they’re not patient enough to quilt. Her response was, “I’m not patient! If I was a patient person, I wouldn’t need to find something to do with my hands ALL THE TIME!”
Read that again:
“I’m not patient! If I was a patient person, I wouldn’t need to find something to do with my hands ALL THE TIME!”
That is so me! If I end up sitting for more than thirty seconds, I just about panic if I don’t have my knitting. I detest going to movies because it’s too dark to knit most things. I can tolerate a movie on TV if I have knitting. I knit through my kids concerts and sporting events. I have a t-shirt that says, “I knit so I don’t kill people.” That’s not a joke!!!
Knitting, spinning, and quilting, Diet Coke, and most importantly, a relationship with Jesus Christ, make me a nicer person than I would be if I didn’t have those passions! That’s kinda scary, because I’m not very patient and sweet to begin with! If I had a soapbox about being a mom, it would be that we need creative outlets if we’re going to survive! I’ve never worked outside the home, but I have friends that have, and they say the same thing. Some parts of being a mom are just drop dead boring, and I know this is a touchy subject. Occasionally, I hear a mom say, “I love everything about being a mom.”
What? Not me!!! Laundry and dusting and vacuuming are not the least bit fulfilling to me! And to be honest, it wasn’t that exciting to watch a beginning softball game, where they never hit….or caught….the ball. But I could smile and wave at my son and be totally engaged, while I was knitting! And laundry was made tolerable because I’d work on a quilt between loads of laundry. That makes a mind numbingly boring day into a day that feeds my need to create. I can have the best of both worlds.
I would love comments on your thoughts about all of this. Please be respectful of others opinions!!!
*Craftsy is an online classroom with classes on so many different things. You can learn to decorate a cake, machine quilt, knit, crochet, spin and more, all from the comfort of your home (or your bed, in my case). There is a charge for most classes but they’re well worth it. The teachers are well known and respected in their fields. I haven’t done a lot of classes yet, but I’ve enjoyed the ones I have done. Here is the link to the Quilt Con series that I was watching and it’s free! Make sure to watch the one that Mary Fons did!
